Tying device



' J. A. BRQGAN;

' TYING DEVICE. APPLICATION mm. 12. I920.

I PatentedSept. 5, 1922.

Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

JAMES A. BROGAN, 0F LALVRENCE, ELASSAGHUSETTS, ASSIGIWOR TO.UNITED SHOE MAGHINERY CORPORATION, 01 PAEERSON, NEW JERSEY, A COR?ORATION OF new JERSEY.

, T'EZING DEVICE.

Application filed April 12, 1220. Serial No. 373,235.

T 0 all 107mm it may] concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES A. Brown, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lawrence, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain Improvements in Tying Devices, of which the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to improvements in tying devices. The invention is herein shown by way of illustration although not by way of limitation as embodied in a d-e. vice especially designed for tying together a pair of shoes.

It is often found necessary in handling a large number of miscellaneous pairs of shoes, as for example when they are piled up in army cantonments while waiting to be repaired or for distribution, to make some provision for keeping each pair of shoes properly mated. One common practice is to tie each of the pairs of shoes together with their laces but even then the laces often become untied and also diiferentpairs of shoes become badly tangled together by their laces. This causes considerable inconvenience and waste of time in handling the shoes and remating them.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple inexpensive and efficient device for temporarily tying together two shoes of a pair while they are being stored or otherwise handled in large numbers preliminary to final disposition.

With this object in view, the invention contemplates a detachable device for fastening a pair of shoes together by their uppers comprising a continuous length of wire bent at one end to provide a handle for manipulation of the device and having a helically bent portion terminating in a free end of the wire for insertion throughthe lacing openings in the shoe uppers. It will be seen that a device of this kind may be readily twisted through the lacing openings in shoe uppers so that the shoe uppers thereby become forcibly wedged in. between the resilient loops of the helix and are thus held together.

As herein illustrated, and in accordance with a feature of the invention, the pitch of the helix increases from the handle portion of the device toward its free end so as to increase the holding effect ofthe device on the shoe upper the farther itis twisted into the lacing openings, and, because of the relatively greater pitch of the helix at its f 'ee end, greater facility in starting the insertion of the device through the lacing openings is attained. In the illustrated preferred embodiment of the invention, both the handle end of the continuous length of wire and the opposite termination of the wire are so disposed in respect to the helically bent portion as to minimize the possibility of the terminations of the wire tangling or otherwise damaging other shoes with which it may contact.

I Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings and the invention will thenbe pointed out in the appended claims. a

in the drawings,-

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a preferred e1nbodiment of the fastening device of the in vention;

Fig. 2 illustrates the use a pair of shoes.

The tying device herein illustrated. is made of a continuous length of round wire 2 the diameter of which is such as to be readily inserted through the eyelets or lacing openings shoe upper. One end of this length of the device on of wire 2 is bent in a loop i to form a hanand in the plane of the last loop of the helix and it is also curled slightly upwardly. In this way the end of the wire serves as a stop to prevent the device from being twisted or threaded too far on to the shoe upper and the curled end prevents the wire from scarring or otherwise injuring the shoe.

The major portion 8 of the length of wire is bent helically to form a series of five or six loops terminating in a free end 12 of the wire for insertion in the lacing openings of the shoe upper. This free end 12 of the wire preferably and as herein shown in Fig. 1,is disposed concentrically of the last loop of the helix so as to prevent the termination of the device from becoming tangled with or injuring other shoes. As herein illustrated, the wireis so bent that the pitch of the helix increases from the handle 4 toward its free end 12. By reason of this the device may he started into the lacing opening with greater facility while the decreasing pitch oi the helix serves to increase the wedging action orbending of the loops of the helix,

on the shoe upper.

In operation, the uppers of a pair of shoes 14: are positioned together with two of their lacing openings indicated at 16 in alinement as indicated in Fig. 2. ilhereai t c the free end 12 of the device is inserted in the alined lacing openings 16 and manipulated by means of the handle at to twist it into the lacing openings. The rotation oi the device causes the shoe uppers to become wedged or pinched between adjacent loops of he hel this pinching action of the loops increasing the farther the device is twisted into the lacing openings. lVhile the uppers of the shoes are securely pinched between the loops of the helix in any position, a manipulation of the device too far into the lacing openings is prevented by the stop 8 formed from the end of the handle portion of the wire.

It will be appreciated that the device applied to the shoe uppers described provides a very inexpensive and eiiicient means for keeping together the shoes of pair and is readily detachable for subsequent use.

While the device of the invention has een herein described as especially designed for derstood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be of general applicability as a tying device.

Having thus described my invention, what, I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters latent of the United States is:

1. detachable device for fastening a pair of shoes by their uppers, comprising a continuous length of wire bent at one end to provide a handle for manipulation of the device and having a helically bent portion terminating in a free end of the wire for inser v tion through lacing openings in the shoe upper, the pitch of the helix increasing from the said handle toward the free end.

53. A detachable device for fastening a pair of shoes by their uppers, comprising a continuous length of Wire bent at one end to provide a handle for manipulation of the device and having a helically bent portion terminating in a free end of the wire for insertion through lacing openings in the shoe upper, the said free end of the wire bedisposed within the-helically bent portion.

in testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

J AMES A. BROGAN. 

